c. Selecting ICT Resources

The teacher in the case study is completely at home with the skills behind most of the options we have looked at above, though he does not know of any really focused dedicated CD-ROM material for the area of work. He has used copies of the original texts in translation, he already has some word processed materials, he has seen some good RE sites on the World Wide Web, and he knows how to use a CD-ROM. Although he has some experience of using Access to run simple databases for his own administrative purposes, he has never taught RE by using these packages.

You may not be in the same position as he, so we shall look at the options in the context of your experience. Think about the following as they apply to you:

Use discussion and chalk-and-talk on the area only, and not use any ICT (or other technology) at all.
I have a bit of a problem with this (I would say that, wouldn't I?) in as much as my own experience of working with discussion alone is that it can be hugely enjoyable, but that learners often have little general and even current affairs knowledge on which to build RE skills and knowledge. Especially in terms of the objectives set for this case study, there is such a wealth of material available from the World Wide Web and CD-ROM that I really would want to get the most out of the curriculum, the technology and the pupils by combining some of the options.

Use a word processor package to create worksheets for the topics, perhaps placing some images into the worksheets to promote understanding.
Here the question is one of how much the pupils will develop their skills if the teacher spends his time on creating stimulus material using a word-processor, and how much they would have done so anyway. My own view is that the use of well organised stimulus material will help learners focus on the topic in hand, as well as giving them examples of how information can be found and managed. It also seems likely that the time spent on creating high quality resources of the sort the teacher wants is likely to be returned in the adaptability and re-usability of the resources.

Use examples and extracts from the original texts, provided in the original language and with translations.
This isn't strictly an ICT option, but it would be if it were done in conjunction with the word processed worksheets or some work on the World Wide Web looking at versions of the texts. The best thing about it is that looking at copies of the originals, or pictures of the originals placed into a word processed document, provides a sense of the reality of the document.

Use a CD-ROM to have pupils gather information on the topics to form the basis of discussion.
Almost any CD-ROM encyclopædia will give you good background information on World Religions, though getting focused data from a CD-ROM is always difficult. You probably know about Encarta and Britannica, and other products such as Hutchinson and Compton provide inexpensive if inconsistent sources of data. The point here is that for this case study you would be looking for clear data on background to specific texts. The biggest problem that arises with mass-market CD-ROM resources is their orientation toward an undifferentiated audience. Some of the CD's appear to assume an educated, highly literate audience, and some seem patronising even to younger pupils. This will mean that tasks set using a CD-ROM encyclopædia will have to take account of the way the product is structured, and the way the information is presented and expressed.

Use the World Wide Web to gather information - particularly factual information covered in the objectives.
In this case study, you might want to find sources themselves, and the following search engines can provide a useful starting point: